The 79 fires that broke out on Friday in Greece have left one person dead, threatened various residential areas and raised suspicions about the causes of the outbreaks.
Firefighters and police officers found a completely carbonised body of man in the Kareas area of Ymittos on Saturday evening. Meanwhile, a 48-year-old man has gone missing in Ymittos since Friday afternoon and authorities do not have any insight as to where he could be. They could not say if the man found dead is the man that has been missing as they have to run DNA tests first.
The fire that burned Ymittos mountain was severe and seriously threatened houses at the area of Kareas, which is close to Athens’s centre.
So far, two beekeepers have been arrested for causing the fire in Ymittos and will be charged with negligent arson.
Winds in Greece were very strong on Friday, but the simultaneous outbreak of fires around Greece has raised some questions, even by the country’s high ranking officials.
Greek Defense Minister Panos Kammenos expressed his belief that there are ulterior motives behind these fires.
“It is very possible -although the Fire Department will decide this- that there is arson at play, making us feel that this is 2007. The Armed Forces will be in the mountains in order to prevent these events,” Kammenos said.
Laconia, which is the southern Peloponnese territory, also suffered significant damage from the fires. According to reports, 40 houses were damaged in the city of Neapoli while around 10,000 olive trees were burned. A beekeeper was arrested for negligent arson.
Major fires also threatened communities in Malakasa, outside Athens. The fire put 130 camp children at immediate risk. The children were safely moved away from the camp. The flames persisted until late Friday night.
Official reports warn that there is a very big likelihood that there will be new outbreaks in the country on Sunday.
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